Singer Robert Plant, left, and guitarist Jimmy Page, right, of the British rock band Led Zeppelin perform at the Live Aid concert at Philadelphia's JFK Stadium in this July 13, 1985, file photo. The surviving members of the band, along with the son of original drummer John Bonham, Jason, will perform Monday in London.

Another Kansas home football game falls on fall-break weekend, which means students won’t be in the stands in big numbers and parents who like to visit sons and daughters and take in a football game will stay home and watch it with them on TV.

It could be a small crowd and if Kansas continues its trend of slow starts, it’s conceivable those running late and listening to Saturday’s 11 a.m. kickoff vs. TCU on the radio in their cars could turn around and head home.

How slow have the starts been? This slow: Ohio, Memphis and Texas Tech have combined to outscore Kansas, 42-0, in the first quarter.

It took Ohio 2:37 to score a touchdown, Memphis 4:15 and Texas Tech 1:42.

“For the last three games, we’ve gotten ourselves in such a hole so quick that it changes things on both sides of the ball,” Kansas second-year head coach David Beaty said.

For the most part, the Kansas defense has made adjustments to recover from sluggish starts after falling prey to some creative game-opening scheming, before sometimes fading at the end after spending so much time on the field. Beaty defended the defense’s slow starts.

“If you’re in a spread league where guys take advantage of space, early in the game it’s not unusual for guys to kind of scheme a little bit and create some space and be able to get off to a fast start,” Beaty said. “And we played in that same league when I was in Rice. Everybody was spread. Early on, you might trail by a couple touchdowns until your defense kind of figures out what their plan is and they kind of lock it down. Then you go from there.”

Of the Texas Tech game, Kansas defensive coordinator Clint Bowen said, “We were bumbling idiots out there on the first drive for the way things were going. The second drive we actually had a couple of chances. We get a third-and-nine and had a chance to make a play and get out of there. The first part of game is tough. You get the opening script that they’ve had a week to think about and they can throw their gauntlet of stuff at you and anything new usually shows up those first 15 plays.”

Most of Ohio’s successful quarterback-run plays, not used much in the past, came at the start of the game. Once Kansas adjusted, they stopped working.

So far, the KU offense’s gauntlet of stuff hasn’t taken any defenses by surprise, in part because of blocking breakdowns.

Beaty attributed slow starts on offense to one of 11 players on the field failing to execute his assignment and of course one broken link destroys the whole chain. KU doesn’t have the manpower to overcome one false step.

KU’s pre-game routine sounds a lot like most teams. After reviewing the game plan, players have their quiet time at their lockers, put their earbuds in and listen to their favorite music.

Quarterback Montell Cozart listens to Meek Mill, a rapper out of Philadelphia. Defensive tackle Daniel Wise said he might listen to Chance the Rapper or Migos, in the time leading up to the game. Ben Johnson said he listens to “some rock, some rap, a little bit of both.”

Bowen said he is not one who encourages his players to get into the crazed mindset of growling animals to start games.

“I’m more into the thinking,” Bowen said. “I’m more into each and every play is its own world. … I like our guys being in their very controlled mindset. When you get that rah-rah crazy stuff I think it does take away from their focus. I like guys to know what’s going on.”

If Kansas gets off to another slow start against TCU, maybe doing something crazy would be worth a try for the next game, the following Saturday in Waco, Texas, against Baylor. Take out the ear buds and everybody listen to the same tune on loudspeakers before blasting out of the locker room: Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir.”

Try it at home and see if it doesn’t make you want to run through a brick wall for the opportunity to tackle someone on the other side of it.